Family Grown and Family Owned

Main menu

Post navigation

Dinettes

Jacob has been been a hobbyist woodworker for years, so custom dinette tables seemed like the obvious choice. He fired up Sketchup and got to work.

There are several key measurements to keep in mind. The height above the floor needs to be high enough to be comfortable but not interfere with the windows. The height above the seat needs to allow comfortable seating. The distance of the legs needs to be far enough from the wall of the bus to not interfere with the wheel-well. The length of the table needs to be long enough to be useful but short enough to allow someone to walk through the aisle without interference.

Three or four models later, we took a break and measured our folding table… the fit was perfect! So it was time to keep it simple.

We purchased a new table and disassembled it in ten minutes. Each half of the table hinged on a steel tube running through the center. We left it attached to one half, and used an oak dowel on the other so that each could still fold individually.

To mount the tables, we used heavy-duty broom clips that are usually mounted to garage walls. They clip to the hinge tube on one table and the oak dowel on the other to hold them at the correct height. It’s not perfect, as heavy pressure near the wall will push the table down a few millimeters, but it is good enough. We may eventually use shims to limit the downward movement.

Now our tables can snap in and out of place in seconds, and they can be folded and put away when not needed.